Pune International Centre’s inaugural edition of ‘Pune Samwad’, a discussion in Marathi featured Michael Pillsbury’s book ‘The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower’
PUNE: India has been at the receiving end of clandestine cooperation between China and the US many times in the past. Although many countries have woken up to China’s assertiveness and growing economic power now, it will be important to India how China-US relations pan out in the future, experts said.
Pune International Centre (PIC) today organized the inaugural edition of Pune Samwad, a program of Conversations on topical issues in Marathi. The program included an online discussion on the book ‘The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower’ written by Michael Pillsbury, a China expert and a former US official who has held several national security positions in the US. The book was published in 2015. (The discussion may be viewed on YouTUbe on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoyWwvwGxOc&t=141s)
The discussion was be led by Anil Supanekar, Founder Trustee, PIC who has served on the board of various companies as a Nominee Director of financial institutions, and was chaired by Ambassador Sudhir Devare (Retd.) former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, and former Director-General, Indian Council for World Affairs. Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President PIC, Abhay Vaidya, Director PIC, Swati Raje, and Hema Devere, Curators of Pune Samwad were present on the occasion.
Supnekar said that book has two parts, first China’s strategy to replace all major powers and the second part is on the activities and how the CIA was working with China. The central theme of the book includes the US view that how China was suppressed by injustice in the past and that it was important to establish democracy and bring China into the mainstream. There was a class in the US that thought that they should support China. While this was happening, Mao Zedong had taken over as the President of China in 1949 and had chalked out a strategy to make China a superpower in the next 100 years. The developments thereafter including political, economic, and strategic policies have been discussed in the book. The Chinese view was that the real strength of the nation is stability and economy more than military strength. The strategy was to control politics and economics more than going in one specific direction. The book also mentions the visit of the world bank delegation which gave guidelines. They have advised adopting new technology and Science and controlling the population. China adopted these ruthlessly.
He added that the second part talks about the involvement of the CIA. The US view was how to keep Russia and China apart. With the US being hit by the sub-prime crisis in 2008, China’s assertiveness grew. China has now planned for 28 years ultimately to become a superpower. Citing the deeply entrenched economic relations between US and China, the book tells about the long history of Chinese support for US clandestine activities which in turn has convinced many US officials that China is a current and prospective partner.
Ambassador Sudhir Devare said that the communist party in China has kept control of politics and economics. The book talks about how China used science and technology for politics./ geopolitics. Today China’s assertiveness is in front of the whole world. The book talks about security cooperation between US and China, US investment in China which has created a thought process in both countries that this cooperation should stay. India has had bitter experiences of this. With firsthand experience of China’s assertiveness, it is equally important to India, how China-US relations pan out.
